Day even the Queen made some rather undiplomatic remarks . . .
HOURS after Cameron’s gaffe, the Queen was also caught out, by her own cameraman, making unguarded comments about last year’s politically sensitive Chinese state visit.
At her first Buckingham Palace garden party of the summer, the monarch was introduced to Metropolitan Police Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who was in charge of security during the visit by President Xi Jinping and his wife last October.
The Lord Chamberlain, Earl Peel, who introduced Commander D’Orsi, couldn’t hide his feelings about the behaviour of the sovereign’s guests.
Nor, however, could the Queen, who commiserated with the senior policewoman and complained how rude the guests had been to her ambassador.
Usually the model of discretion, the Queen’s astonishing comments were picked up by her long-serving official cameraman, Peter Wilkinson, and the film fed to broadcasters. The exchange went:
Lord Chamberlain ( LC): ‘Can I present Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who was Gold Commander during the Chinese state visit…’ The Queen: ‘Oh, bad luck.’ LC: ‘…and who was seriously, seriously undermined by the Chinese, but she managed to hold her own and remain in command … You must tell your story.’
Commander D’Orsi (CD): ‘Yes … I’m not sure whether you knew, but it was quite a testing time for me.’ The Queen: ‘Yes, I did.’ CD: ‘I think at the point they walked out of Lancaster House and told me that the trip was off, that I felt…’
The Queen: ‘They were very rude to the ambassador.’
CD: ‘They were, well, yes she was, Barbara was with me and they walked out on both of us.’ The Queen: ‘Extraordinary.’ CD: ‘It was very rude and very undiplomatic I thought.’
The Queen’s comments recall gaffes made by her husband and eldest son when it comes to the Chinese.
Prince Philip once told some students in China that if they stayed there too long they would develop ‘slittyeyes’. Charles, who is known to dislike China’s communist rulers due to their treatment of Tibet, wrote that they looked like ‘appalling old waxworks’ at the handover of Hong Kong.
When recalling meeting the Queen to reporters later, Commander D’Orsi did not make a single mention of the monarch’s remarks.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last night: ‘We do not comment on the Queen’s private conversations. However, the Chinese state visit was extremely successful and all parties worked closely to ensure it proceeded smoothly.’